CrossCheck Blog

It is common knowledge that furniture sales spike immediately after the holidays as stores slash prices in preparation of new styles and inventory that typically arrive in January and February. When store owners put out the large “For Sale” signs, tie balloons to their front façade (not to mention placing the occasional inflatable sky dancer in the parking lot), they are hoping for a rush so they can clear out the sales floor ahead of new inventory arrivals.

John is a building materials supplier. He has just received a wish list of innovative materials from a general contractor who is building an office and lab for a tech manufacturer. John knows the wish list is expensive but is excited to be part of creating what promises to be a structure that will revolutionize the construction industry and hoist it into tomorrow.

All motorcycle manufacturers have been rejoicing as sales increased dramatically during the first half of this year, following an almost disastrous 2020. For instance, Italian manufacturer Ducati posted a 33% increase for Q1, while Harley-Davidson notched a 24% uptick for Q2.

A patient shows up at the dentist’s office in excruciating pain, needing an emergency root canal and eventual crown, both costly procedures often only covered at 60 percent by insurance providers. As a healthcare provider, the dentist sees the patient while the front office begins to crunch the numbers and tries to get confirmation from the insurance provider.

For dentists, improving a patient’s oral health and watching them leave with a bright smile are indicators of success. Depending on the level of work involved those bright smiles can come with significant price tags. While big-ticket dental procedures are good for business, coming up with funding can be a challenge for your patients. To keep the success of your office booming, you will want to provide the right financial options for your patients and understand the best finance options available for dental offices. One of the best options available allows your patients with steady employment to pay those bigger bills over a specific period using multiple checks. When combined with check guarantee services this creates a win-win scenario for you and your patients.

As a business owner in today’s COVID-19 business space, deciding the best ways to accept payments in 2021 is a critical decision that has prompted a few questions. Are your current payment options safe and convenient for customers? As businesses open back up, are customers returning to their old payment habits or moving on to new ones? Forcing customers to change is never a good idea, but giving them options is always a great idea. Do customers want to pay right now or pay with terms? Is the option they are looking for cash, check, debit, credit, or even bitcoin? Searching for the right solution with all the variables experienced in 2020 can be daunting for any business, no matter the size. Furthermore, there was a shift to contactless payments in 2021 and those changes are here to stay. When looking at payment options and solutions, finding the right combination is key.

The announcement that Random Length Lumber Futures (for March 2021) have reached an all-time high ($1,004) has prompted a variety of solutions by contractors and other customers of building supply dealers. The record-high lumber prices soared past the $1,000 per 1,000 board feet mark on Feb. 18, sending buyers into reaction mode. This figure is over twice the amount ($495.60) from Nov. 2020. Experts say a strong home-building market, low-interest rates, and a boom in home remodeling are responsible for the increase despite other indications that demand for lumber is decreasing.

“Dealers need to provide customers with a consistent, relevant, seamless experience throughout each stage of purchasing, including the dealership website.” – David Boice Recently, I attended a webinar given by David Boice, CEO and founder of a company called Advid. It was titled, “Lessons from Amazon Prime: evolving the consumer experience in the digital era.” I thought Mr. Boice had some important things to say about what consumers think and feel when they start their search for a new car, and I wanted to share this with our readers. To understand his message, we have to start at the beginning of the consumer buying experience.

If your business sells building materials to the construction industry, then you already know that it takes a long time to get paid. It doesn’t matter what you sell — lumber, dry wall, plumbing supplies, roofing materials, flooring — the contractors who buy from you have cash-flow issues that they deal with every day. The 2019 National Construction Payments Report, a survey conducted in collaboration between Levelset and TSheets by Quickbooks, concluded that getting paid in the construction industry is slower than just about every other industry. How slow? The average time to payment is 83 days!

Recently, some of our merchant dealers have been asking us about artificial intelligence – what is it, how does it work, and most importantly, can artificial intelligence help auto dealerships increase revenue? To answer those questions, let’s start with some background. In 1950, Alan Turing wrote a paper titled “Computing Machinery and Intelligence.” His idea was: “Humans use available information as well as reason to solve problems and make decisions, so why can’t machines do the same thing?” The problem back then was that computers could not store enough information, or process it fast enough, to add value to the procedure. We needed more processing power, new software, and ultimately putting the GPU in the cloud. This took a few more decades, plus the power of Moore’s Law, to be viable.